1. Brief Introduction
The two companies D/S Svendborg and D/S 1912 have for almost a century been the parent companies
of the A.P. Møller Group. These companies were founded by Mr. Arnold Peter Møller and his father
Captain Peter Mærsk Møller. They were in the beginning entirely into shipping. In 1912, the fleet
consisted of 6 vessels.
Much has happened since the company was founded: The A.P. Møller Group has by any standards
become the biggest company in Denmark. Moreover, "Svendborg" and "1912" have recently been
merged into one company "A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S". However, as we shall be concerned with the
performance of the company also in the past we will repeatedly make reference to the historic parent
companies.
As "Svendborg" and "1912" grew bigger they expanded into a number of other businesses. It is
common to split the main businesses of the APM Group into three broad categories: